Church leaders from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the World Council of Churches released statements online on Tuesday, asking President Obama to continue to push for a ceasefire negotiation between Israel and Hamas, and expressing their grave concern for the violent conflicts of which there seems to be no imminent end. They showed distress for the lives of civilians that have already been taken, and the lives that they fear will continue to be taken if this conflict continues the way it is.
“The PC(USA) cries out for this immediate ceasefire knowing the issue is not simple. The drama is layered thick with the realities of contested borders, occupation, blockades, security concerns, failed negotiations, terrorism, and refugees. Yet bombing and invading Gaza, and firing rockets indiscriminately into Israel will ultimately accomplish nothing more than to inflict harm on the innocent, incite fear and terror among Palestinians and Israelis, and prolong a centuries-old fight,” read the PC(USA) statement.
The statement further read, “We challenge the Israeli government and Hamas to put down their weapons of war and take up the instruments of dialogue and engagement.”
Reverend Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit, the general secretary of the World Council of Churches, communicated similar sentiments in his statement. He “appealed to all parties to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law which condemn and prohibit all kinds of indiscriminate and disproportionate killing of civilians” (internal quotes excluded).
President Barack Obama has himself also been expressing concerns over the civilian deaths in Gaza. In a video posted by the Guardian, the President stated that he has “serious concerns about the rising number of Palestinian deaths and the loss of Israeli lives,” and he further added that “that is why it now has to be our focus and the focus of the international community to bring about a ceasefire to end the fighting and stop the deaths of innocent civilians both in Gaza and in Israel.”
Despite his statement of concern for lost civilian lives, however, the United States was the only one to vote “No” in the United Nations’ vote to adopt a resolution on Gaza and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, according to a photo that the United Nations posted on their Facebook earlier Wednesday. The post said “the resolution establishes a Commission of Inquiry into human rights violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, demands that Israel ceases its military assaults, and lifts the blockade of Gaza.”
The United Nations further stated that the death toll in Palestine reached more than 600 on Wednesday, at least 147 of which were children.
